As former prosecutor Yasuchika Negoro assumes the post of baseball commissioner, the Japanese sport appears in trouble with popular players fleeing to the major leagues and TV ratings on the decline in Japan.
Yasuchika Negoro (left) may be the commissioner of Japanese baseball, but many believe Yomiuri Giants
owner Tsuneo Watanabe (right) is calling all the shots.
Critics say the Jan. 26 appointment of Negoro, former chief of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, to replace outgoing Hiromori Kawashima shows a lack of a sense of crisis among those involved in professional baseball and reflects a policy-making process centering around the Yomiuri Giants.